When Chen Xiaomu returned to the table and sat down, Xiong Ji smiled at him and said, "Mr. Chen, please understand the difficulties of our Chu country. Although Chu and Hubei are ready to form an alliance, the hatred between the two countries does not happen overnight." It can be resolved, even after several generations of efforts. Therefore, in order to prevent another conflict, I think it is necessary to establish a buffer zone to prevent the conflict between the two countries from expanding in the future. "
Chen Xiaomu smiled noncommittally, "Then why not set up the buffer zone in Chu State? Instead of setting it up in the original territory of E State? And why should the dozens of cities in this buffer zone be managed by Chu State instead of Is it better for the people of Hubei to govern Hubei? As far as I know, the Chu Kingdom has always been the initiator of the conflicts between the two countries. If the Chu Kingdom uses these Hubei lands to attack the Hubei Kingdom again in the future, it will How to deal with it?"
Xiong Ji and Shi Lei looked at Chen Xiaomu in disbelief. Before they came here, they had discussed various ways to deal with Chen Xiaomu with Xiong Ze, but now the questions raised by Chen Xiaomu were all to the point, and they hit their hearts. Suddenly I felt helpless.
After listening to Chen Xiaomu's words, Du Fengxian, Zhang Yun and others standing behind Chen Xiaomu suddenly brightened their eyes and stared at Xiong Ji and Shi Lei to see how they would answer.
After waiting for a long time, Xiong Ji forced a smile and said: "Mr. Chen, our Chu country was the victor in the Chu-E battle, so it is understandable that the benefits will be greater."
"Oh, then who among us is the victor now?" Chen Xiaomu stared at Xiong Ji and asked directly.
"This?" Xiong Ji hesitated for a long time without saying anything.
"Your Excellency, I feel that we are still undecided on the outcome." Shi Lei interjected.
"Haha, I thought your Chu State was only one step away from being destroyed. No matter what the outcome of our battle at Yecheng was, the people of Qin State would definitely come to pick peaches. As the saying goes, taking advantage of someone's illness can kill someone!" Chen Xiaomu laughed. road.
"I'm afraid it won't be any better if the people of Qin really come to you, right?" Shi Lei said coldly.
"What the Qin people want to occupy is your Chu State, it doesn't matter to me. The worst I can do is give up the Chu State territory I occupy and retreat to Xinyang Pass to guard the pass with explosives. As long as the Qin people are not afraid of death, then come. I don't believe that Emperor Qin can do it because of Zheng The country, a small country with dozens of cities, left its rear to the people of Qi. Don't forget that Qi was also a big country with more than a thousand cities, and its population was larger than that of Qin. At the same time, Qin The north side also has to face the fierce Tatars on the grassland, and the current mid-winter season is a good opportunity for the Tatars to go south to plunder." Chen Xiaomu said also coldly.
After Chen Xiaomu finished speaking, the table fell into a dead silence. After a while, Xiong Ji wanted to break the awkward atmosphere on the table and said carefully: "Mr. Chen, can we each take a step back and try our best to sign this peace treaty document?" , to save all peoples from water and fire!"
Chen Xiaomu nodded, "Okay, I'd like to hear the details."
Xiong Ji hesitated for a moment, then said bravely: "How about we increase the amount of silver compensation to seven million taels?"
"You still insist on getting this fifty-city land that originally belonged to the country of E?"
Xiong Ji hesitated for a moment, then nodded affirmatively.
Chen Xiaomu thought for a while and said: "Since you have taken a step back, it would be disrespectful to come and go without reciprocating. We also take a step back. We will only rent these fifty cities without dividing them. We will rent them to you for twenty years at a rent of five One million taels of silver, these fifty cities are the richest places in Hubei!"
Xiong Ji turned her head and glanced at Shi Lei, who was sitting not far from her. Shi Lei shook his head slightly. Xiong Ji immediately understood. She turned back to Chen Xiaomu and said with a smile: "Master Chen, can I discuss it with the prime minister before making any decision?" decision."
Chen Xiaomu nodded and said, "Your Highness, please help yourself."
As soon as Xiong Ji and Shi Lei left the tent, Du Fengxian couldn't wait to sit in front of Chen Xiaomu and said, "Mr. Chen, if you rent those fifty wealthy cities to the people of Chu, the remaining one hundred and forty cities are almost It is a deserted city. Without the tax support of the fifty cities, it would not be able to survive for two years, let alone twenty years. Besides, the rent of five million taels is too small, and it is not enough to support the tax revenue of the fifty cities for two years. , Next we have to re-locate and build a new capital city. A new capital city with complete facilities, high walls, deep buildings, and fortified buildings will probably cost at least eight million to ten million taels of silver!"
Chen Xiaomu smiled confidently and said: "Old Du, even if you build an army and build a city, I will be responsible for raising all the money. I will never leave you short of money."
Du Feng heard Chen Xiaomu's promise first and didn't know what to say. He sighed deeply, stood up and stepped aside.
At this time, Li Gui, who was in charge of guarding the tent, walked in quietly. He first glanced at Du Fengxian, Zhang Yun and others standing behind Chen Xiaomu, then leaned over and put his mouth to Chen Xiaomu's ear, and whispered, "Mr. Chen, just now The princess of Chu and the old man who came out with her released a dove."
Chen Xiaomu nodded slightly and said, "Let her go. She has something to report to her father."
Li Gui nodded, straightened up and exited the tent.
After more than an hour, Xiong Ji and Shi Lei walked into the tent again. As soon as Xiong Ji walked into the tent, she smiled and said to Chen Xiaomu: "Because the matter is so important, neither the prime minister nor I can make the decision, so we have to I used the method of flying pigeons to pass the message to ask my father to make a decision, and let Mr. Chen wait for a long time."
Chen Xiaomu stood up and said with a smile: "Understood, I can understand your difficulties. I wonder what the emperor of your country has given you in terms of the conditions I proposed?"
Xiong Ji suddenly wanted to make a joke with Chen Xiaomu. She deliberately stared at Chen Xiaomu with a straight face for a while. Seeing that Chen Xiaomu still looked at her with a smile on his face, Xiong Ji smiled lightly and said: "Father, Emperor Gu Due to the devastation caused by the war to the common people, I agree to the conditions put forward by Mr. Chen!" After saying that, she took a few blank documents covered with Xiong Ze's jade seal from Shi Lei and said, "The two sides of us will now agree to the conditions proposed by Mr. Chen. What do you think of writing a supplementary agreement to the proposed conditions?"
Chen Xiaomu nodded in agreement and immediately pulled Du Fengxian behind him to his position. He knew that his handwriting was too ugly and he couldn't use it, so he didn't look so ugly. I don't know if it was because of the same ugly handwriting as Chen Xiaomu or some other reason. Xiong Ji also It was recommended that Shi Lei write the supplementary agreement on her behalf. After Shi Lei and Du Fengxian discussed and deliberated word for word, it took more than an hour to write a simple supplementary agreement of just over a hundred words. Then Princess Xiong Ji represented her Father Xiong Ze signed, and Chen Xiaomu also sent someone to ask Ximen Ruoen to sign the document and stamp it with the jade seal that Chen Xiaomu had found someone to carve for her in advance.
After all signing procedures are completed, the peace agreement and the alliance agreement between Chu and Hubei will take effect immediately. The Chu army will withdraw from more than 140 cities in Hubei within a month and hand it over to the Hubei army under Ximen Ruoen. Chen Xiaomu's troops besieging Yecheng, the capital of Chu, were withdrawn from all Chu territories to Zheng and E within a month. The two sides did not allow any more hostilities even in the current territory transfer contact. The supervisory envoys of both sides monitored each other's withdrawal. , the Chu army was served by Pan Yi, the Minister of War, and the Hubei army was not formally established by the imperial court, so Xiao Cheng, the temporary military superintendent appointed by the Queen of Hubei, Ximen Ruoen, served as the Hubei army's withdrawal supervisor.
In order to celebrate the successful signing of the peace treaty between Chu and Hubei, Chen Xiaomu specially asked Li Gui to slaughter a sheep, and then used the process of roasting whole sheep stored in his mind to make a roasted whole lamb. Although there were not as many seasonings as later generations, he still ate it. This group of ancient people who only knew how to cook every day were all smiles and praised them repeatedly. Xiong Ji even stood next to Chen Xiaomu when she smelled the aroma of roasted whole lamb. When Chen Xiaomu had just finished roasting the roasted whole lamb and was about to be brought to the table. , she ordered the guards following her to cut off a roasted lamb leg first, wrap it in cloth, and prepare to present it to her father Xiong Ze for tasting after returning to the city. Chen Xiaomu also asked Chen Xiaomu to write down the procedure for roasting the whole lamb on a piece of paper. Give it to her so that she can roast this beautiful mutton when she returns.
In the midst of the laughter and drinks between the two parties, there was a roasted whole lamb. Except for a leg of lamb that had been cut off by Xiong Ji beforehand, almost no bones of the lamb were left. In the end, even the ribs and leg bones of the lamb were eaten like hungry wolves. The man gnawed it all away, leaving only one spine of the whole sheep. It was because it was too thick, too big, and too hard to chew, so he let the poor sheep go. Otherwise, this sheep would really have no bones. Saved.
After sending Xiong Ji, Shi Lei and others away, Du Fengxian first found Chen Xiaomu and said with a sad face: "Mr. Chen, you have to think of a way quickly, otherwise there will be no place to put the compensation money sent by the Chu people in two days!"
Chen Xiaomu smiled and said: ''This is all a trivial matter. The top priority now is for us to go see the emperor as soon as possible and temporarily appoint this official of the E Kingdom's court. Otherwise, we will not be held responsible, and we will not take care of things that should be done and things that should not be taken care of. Things are managed randomly again, which will lead to competition for power and profit in the future, and everyone wants to manage things that are beneficial to themselves! There is no one to take care of things that are not beneficial! "
Du Fengxian heard the words and thought for a while, and felt that what Chen Xiaomu said made sense, so he and Chen Xiaomu came to Ximen Ruoen's tent. As soon as they met, Du Fengxian lifted the hem of his linen robe, knelt upright in front of Ximen Ruoen, and shouted : "Long live my humble emperor!" His posture not only startled Ximen Ruoen, but also made Chen Xiaomu, who was following him and always refused to kneel down, stand awkwardly, looking a little at a loss for a moment. .
Fortunately, Ximen Ruoen adapted to the role quickly. He was stunned for a moment, then quickly raised his hand and said softly: "Get up and watch." After saying that, she looked at Chen Xiaomu with a smile, with a mischievous look. Obviously he wanted to see Chen Xiaomu's joke.
At this time, Chen Xiaomu couldn't help but secretly slandered him. Old Du usually looked like a human being when he was five or six people, but he didn't expect that he was still a flatterer. He didn't have eunuchs, he didn't have maids, he didn't even have a bodyguard. What is your name, Your Majesty? You, Lao Du, will be photographed right now. No, I have to stay away from you in the future, lest you make me a knee-less person too.
Seeing Chen Xiaomu standing silently, Ximen Ruoen couldn't help but teased: "Husband, are you not convinced that I am the emperor of Hubei?"
Chen Xiaomu had an idea and pretended to be in pain and said: "Your Majesty, I have been suffering from joint disease for the past two days. I cannot kneel down like Lao Du for you. Please forgive me!"
"Pfft" Ximen Ruoen almost laughed out loud, she smiled and waved her hand, "Forget it, don't I know you yet? You don't want to kneel and no one forces you to kneel. Tell me, what's the matter with you two coming to me? ?”
When Chen Xiaomu heard this, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, this wife was quite considerate and knew how to help him out. She didn't make things difficult for him, so his love for her was not in vain, so he repeated what he had said to Du Fengxian. .
After hearing this, Ximen Ruoen pondered for a moment, then looked up at Chen Xiaomu and asked, "Husband, do you and Mr. Du have a suitable candidate?"
Chen Xiaomu and Du Fengxian shook their heads at the same time: "We both want to ask the emperor to make a decision!"
Ximen Ruoen hesitated for a moment and said to Chen Xiaomu in a consulting tone: "Husband, I would like to ask Mr. Du to serve as prime minister. What do you think?"
Chen Xiaomu nodded and said: "Based on Lao Du's saving efforts in killing the traitor Wang Yun, it is natural for him to become prime minister!" "
